Salt Marsh Foraminifera, St. Catherines Island, Georgia: Ecology, Taphonomy, Paleoecology

盐沼和沼泽有孔虫组合 北美东北部与北美东北部的 墨西哥湾，但它们之间的关键动物群过渡-- 尤其是东南部特有的沼泽组合 美国海岸--基本上还没有研究过。 同样，短-和 损失、保存或重新分配的长期方面 这些沉积物中的有孔虫测试仍然基本未知。 本文提出的工作旨在解决这两个问题： 东南部盐层生态与埋藏学意义 沼泽有孔虫 现代和残余（-200至1500年以上）盐沼 格鲁吉亚圣凯瑟琳斯岛的沉积物提供了理想的 盐埋藏学和古生态学研究的背景 沼泽有孔虫 现代沼泽地面积广阔， 现代环境的例子，与 “古环境”的旧残留沉积。 残盐 沼泽沉积物，沿着东部边缘广泛暴露， 这个岛屿有着保存完好的重要的原地特征， 允许识别那些特定的盐沼栖息地 以及现代沼泽中描述的亚环境。 有孔虫和其他微体化石在这些 存款 这些遗迹的有孔虫分布研究 因此可以利用基本上相同的材料来实现沉积 适用于现代沼泽研究的方法。 本研究的目的是记录和比较 现代和残存有孔虫的分布格局 圣凯瑟琳斯的沼泽沉积物 结果将解决问题 地理学，生态学，古生态学，古环境学 解释，特别是对埋藏学的评估 和埋藏相。

Salt marshes and marsh foraminiferal assemblages of northeastern North America differ appreciably from those of the Gulf of Mexico, yet the crucial faunal transitions between them-- especially marsh assemblages characteristic of the southeastern U.S. coast--remain essentially unstudied. Similarly, short- and long-term aspects of loss, preservation, or redistribution of foraminiferal tests in these sediments remains largely unknown. The work proposed herein is designed to address both problems: the ecologic and taphonomic significance of southeastern salt marsh foraminifera. Modern and relict (-200 to 1500+ year old) salt marsh sediments of St. Catherines Island, Georgia, provide and ideal setting for studies on the taphonomy and paleoecology of salt marsh foraminifera. Modern marshes are extensive and provide examples of modern environments for comparisons with the "paleoenvironments" of the older relict deposits. Relict salt marsh sediments, extensively exposed along the eastern margin of the island, contain key, well-preserved, in situ features that permit the identification of those specific salt marsh habitats and subenvironments that have been described in modern marshes. Foraminifera and other microfossils are abundant in these deposits. A distributional study on foraminifera of these relict deposits therefore can be achieved utilizing essentially the same methods applicable to studies on modern marshes. The purpose of this study is to document and compare distributional patterns of foraminifera in modern and relict marsh sediments of St. Catherines. Results will address problems of biogeography, ecology, paleoecology, paleoenvironmental interpretations, and particularly the assessment of taphonomy and taphofacies.